This monumental investment is the largest among other mining projects managed by the company, including the Tujuh Bukit gold mine in Banyuwangi, East Java, and the Wetar copper mine on Wetar Island, Southwest Maluku, marking Sulawesi's position as one of the largest primary gold mining centers in Indonesia.
The Pani Gold Project, with its mineral resource of 6.7 million ounces of gold, will be a low-cost, long-life gold mine.
Merdeka Copper Gold, which owns a 70 percent stake in the Pani Gold Project, has allocated approximately US$114 million for the initial development phase, including resource definition, metallurgical testing, and infrastructure since 2022.
It is expected that the first production phase will begin in early 2026, following the completion of commissioning in late 2025.
The project will begin with an initial investment of approximately US$250 million to construct a Heap Leach (HL) production facility with a production capacity of approximately 7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), producing approximately 140,000 ounces of gold per year.
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The next phase, in early 2027, will see the construction of a Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) processing facility with a capacity of 7.5 million tonnes per annum and an investment of approximately US$633 million.
Further expansion is expected in early 2030, with production capacity increasing to 12 million tonnes per ton (Mtpa) with an investment of approximately US$294 million.
At peak production, the combined capacity of HL and CIL of 19 million tonnes per ton (Mtpa) is expected to produce up to 500,000 ounces of gold per year.
The feasibility study also estimates that the Pani Gold Project will become a key revenue source for Merdeka during its first 10 years of operation, generating revenues of US$11.4 billion and EBITDA of US$7.4 billion over the first 10 years of operation.
Septi Widiyarti